Gastonia man robs bank to get health care in jail

Until last Thursday, James Verone, 59, of Gastonia, had never been in trouble with the law. That’s the day he robbed an RBC bank of $1, then waited in the lobby for the police to arrive. He committed the piddling robbery, Verone says, because he’s in desperate need of health care and hopes he will be able to get the treatments he needs while he’s in jail. I’d say Verone’s story is near the top of the list to be named THE classic tale of the godawful injustice of America’s health care delivery system.

Verone’s no bum looking for a handout by any means. He worked for Coca-Cola for 17 years, then found work as a truck driver after he was laid off, but that job ended, too. Since, Verone exhausted his savings and has only been able to land part time jobs. Then his health started failing — a growth on his chest, two ruptured disks, arthritis, carpal tunnel, problems with his left foot that causes him to limp. He tried filing for disability or early Social Security, but didn’t qualify. The pain, he said, became worse and worse, and thus his rob-a-bank-for-health care plan developed.

Verone hoped to be charged with bank robbery, but was arrested for the lesser charge of larceny from a person. He has refused bail, and still hopes to be able to stay in jail long enough to have all his problems looked at.

We wish James Verone the best. We also wish our local daily paper had picked up on the original story in the Gaston Gazette and used it for more than a tiny blog item. Why? Because — Hello?! — it’s now a national story, picked up by various other papers and blogs, as well as Huffington Post.

This article appears in Jun 21-27, 2011.